Using property groups

A property group bundles a set of event properties into one reusable unit, so you can add all of them to an event in a single step instead of adding each property individually. When you update the group, Amplitude Data applies the change to every event that uses it, which keeps complex tracking plans consistent without manual edits to each event.

Use property groups when you want to add the same set of properties to many events without repeating the setup on each one. To track properties about a business entity, like an account, rather than an event, use group properties instead, a distinct feature under Data > Groups.

For example, a music app's tracking manager might need a way to streamline creation of events relating to songs. Each of these events includes the following properties:

• albumName
• artistName
• genre
• recordLabel
• releaseDate
• songDuration
• songTitle

Instead of individually adding properties to every one of these events, the tracking plan manager can add these properties to their own property group. Whenever they create a new song-related event that includes these properties, they only have to add the entire group to the event.

Another benefit is that whenever they edit or update a property (but not a property value), that edit carries over to all events that include the group to which the property belongs.

For example, imagine the tracking manager wants to change the recordLabel property from a text string to a numeric code to align with a standardized database of record labels. As soon as they make the change in Amplitude Data, that property updates for every event that uses the Songs property group.

Using property groups also makes sure you use the same iteration of a property with your events. In Amplitude Data, you can have multiple iterations of a property, which can sometimes be confusing when adding properties to events.

Create a property group

To create a property group, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Properties > Event Properties and click Property Groups.
2. Click + Create property group.
3. In the flyout window, enter a name for the group. Then add a description and any tags, if needed.
4. Click + Add property to begin adding properties to this property group.
5. Select an event property from the dropdown menu. You can either scroll until you find it, or you can begin typing its name in the search box until it appears.
6. Repeat the previous step until you've added all the properties you want to include in the property group. Amplitude saves your progress automatically.

Add a property group to an event

To add a property group to an event, follow these steps:

1. In Events, click the name of the event you want from the list. The event's flyout window opens.
2. In the Details tab, find the Properties section and click + Add property.
3. In the dropdown list that appears, any existing property groups appear first. Find the one you want and click it.

If any property in the group already exists as a direct property on the event, Amplitude Data shows a confirmation dialog listing the affected properties and events. Confirm to remove the direct mappings and serve those properties through the group instead. The properties stay live on all affected events. This is a reorganization, not a deletion.

To modify the properties for a property group, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Properties and click Property Groups.
2. Scroll until you find the group you want to modify and click it. Its flyout window appears.
3. Make your changes. The changes apply across all events or sources.

If you add a property to the group that already exists as a direct property on an event that uses this group, Amplitude Data shows a confirmation dialog listing the affected events. Confirm to remove the direct mapping and serve the property through the group instead.